For months AMC has been beating the drums for the so-called “last” Rick Grimes/Andrew Lincoln episode. And as it came time to hunker down for Sunday’s “What Comes After,” speculation ran rampant on how our leading man would exit the zombie apocalypse.

Would he remain impaled on that rebar spike and simply bleed out? (Too easy).

Would he become zombie-chow for the two hordes of walkers coming his way? (Too lame).

Would Negan somehow escape and kill him? (Too convenient).

Would he realize his dream of an ideal society was crumbling and simply ride off into the sunset? (Too undramatic).

Or would he, as gamesradar.com had listed among its scenarios, be accidentally killed by little Judith after she somehow got ahold of a gun? (Too horrifying).

So how did our man, Rick actually go out? … On a HELICOPTER??!

How many of you saw that one coming? (And don’t lie).

Yes, the last we saw of Rick, he was barely clinging to life in a helicopter, commandeered by an unknown pilot and flying to an unknown destination. He was there, thanks to Anne/Jadis, who after a massive bridge explosion that Rick triggered (and appeared to perish in), was discovered lying along the riverbank. Anne/Jadis is apparently using Rick in a duplicitous trade in order to gain access to a mystery colony somewhere out there.

Will we ever see Jadis again? Will we ever see Rick again? Will we ever know who these helicopter people are or where they’re going? Will we know what happens next? Tune in at some point to find out.This episode left us with more questions than answers. #TheWalkingDead

So maybe that wasn’t the last Rick Grimes episode we’ll ever see. Maybe producers have left the door open for a possible return somewhere down the line.

(UPDATE: AMC announced Sunday night that it is developing a series of stand-alone Rick Grimes movies starring Andrew Lincoln and written by Scott M. Gimple, with the first one expected to begin production as early as 2019. The first film will explore the story of where Rick is taken and what he faces in a new corner of the zombie apocalypse.)

OK, so we didn’t predict that one. Perfectly understandable. But perhaps we should have been ready for the narrative fake-out that preceded it. After all, “Walking Dead” writers have long been infatuated with such cheap tricks (See: Glenn and the dumpster).

This time, they sucked us in with a storyline that had us believing Rick was on the verge of death. Yes, he managed to pull himself off that rebar spike (with the help of his belt). But the walkers were on his heels throughout the hour and he was in dire condition, losing blood and slipping in and out of consciousness.

Along the way, he experienced wild hallucinations in which he was confronted by dead people from his past — Shane, Herschel, Sasha. He kept telling them that “I need to find my family and keep them together.” They kept telling him to “wake up.”

Eventually, Rick — gasping and wheezing and bleeding — led the walkers onto the bridge — just as Michonne, Daryl, Maggie and Carol were arriving in the area. They could only look on in horror as Rick — executing one last heroic act — raised his gun and fired upon a bundle of dynamite.

BOOM! went the bridge and the charred walkers plunged into the raging waters below.

Anguish was etched all over the faces of Rick’s fellow survivors. He was dead, of course. No way he could survive that great big ball of fire. Michonne screamed in agony as Maggie and Carol fought to hold her back. The saddest visage belonged to Daryl. His lips quivered and tears filled his eyes before he turned and walked off alone into the woods.

Undoubtedly, “Walking Dead” fans were reaching for the tissues … and then …

PSYCH!! … Rick’s still alive?! Really?!

Yes, really. As the helicopter flies into view, Jadis/Anne is communicating with its pilot via walkie-talkie. She has a pistol. And it’s then that she spots a prone Rick along the riverbank. She radios the copter that “I have a B.” This is no trick. “I’m trying to save a friend who saved me. Do we have a deal?”

The next thing we see is Rick lying — alive — in the copter as it leaves the colonies behind.

“You’re going to be OK,” Jadis/Anne says.

And then, just before the episode closes out for good, we get a quick — and frivolous — flash-forward scene in which a gun-toting girl is helping some people escape from a clot of walkers. She has a cowboy hat, and she is, of course, Daddy’s little girl — “Judith … Judith Grimes.”

So what did you think of the episode, which also saw Maggie poised to kill Negan only to back off? Did you feel the helicopter escape was a cheat? Or were you pleased to see Rick make it out of there alive? Are you glad that Rick’s final major move was an act of selfless heroism? Where do you think Rick is headed? (The Hollywood Reporter interview with Andrew Lincoln).

Let us know your thoughts by weighing in on our poll and/or by leaving a comment.

Andrew Lincoln is an amazing actor, I couldn’t picture anyone else play Rick Grimes. This last episode was incredible. Andrew is a legend and he will really really be missed. I wish he had social media so he could see all the love we have for him! #TheWalkingDead

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